Little Kunshan Garden

Little Kunshan Garden

Little Kunshan Garden is located in the northwest of Songjiang, about 10 kilometers from the urban area, at the southwestern end of the Jiufeng Mountains. The mountain stands 54.3 meters high, has a circumference of 1.5 kilometers, and covers a mountainous area of approximately 300 acres. Little Kunshan is the hometown of Lu Ji and Lu Yun, two renowned literary figures of the Western Jin Dynasty. Ancient scholars likened the “Two Lus” to fine jade, praising them with the phrase “Jade emerges from Kun Gang.” According to the line in a poem by Lu Ji, “As if facing the southern side of the Valley Stream, gracefully nestled on the shady side of Kun Mountain,” the name Kunshan likely predates the era of Lu Ji and Lu Yun. To distinguish it from Ma'anshan (also called Kunshan) in Kunshan County, Jiangsu Province, it came to be known as Little Kunshan.

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The mountain has a gentle southwest-to-northeast slant and features two peaks, north and south. The entire mountain is shaped like an “8,” graceful and rounded—when viewed from afar, it resembles an inverted jar or the head of a reclining ox, hence it is also called “Ox Head Mountain.” On the mountain’s shaded side once stood the former residence of the Two Lus; midway up the mountain are the Two Lus’ Reading Terrace, Wanluan Cottage, and White Colt Spring; at the summit are the Sizhou Pagoda Temple and Three Saints Pavilion; and at the foot are the Red Water Chestnut Ferry, Willow Bridge, Flower-Begging Field, Jade Light Pavilion, Yishan Tower, and Seven Sages Hall. Most of these historic sites have now been lost to time.